Dianakko Week
by DuwangChew
Summary: A series of small works I'm doing for Dianakko week on tumblr! I'm hopefully going to be writing a piece for each day, so I hope you enjoy!
1. Day 1 Stars or Astrology

"Akko, where are you taking me? It's past curfew. We could get in trouble," Diana whispered to the brunette girl as they slowly made their way through the moonlit halls of Luna Nova. It had been after her scheduled patrol when Diana returned to her room only to find Akko waiting outside her door. Surprised, Diana had little time to question exactly why she was their, and more importantly what her mischievous grin was for, before the excitable girl had taken her by the arm and lead her down the corridor, simply saying 'she had to show her something special'.

In any normal situation, the lack of detail would have bothered her, let alone the disregard for school rules. This was no normal situation however; nothing was ever quite normal when it came to Akko. The Japanese girl was as full of surprises as she was energy, and Diana couldn't the feeling of excitement that bubbled up within her as she was led along.

"Akko," the heiress tried again, only for the shorter girl to cut her off with a soft shush.

"Don't worry about Diana. We'll be there soon, and I promise it'll totally blow your socks off!" Akko said, looking back over her shoulder, an eager smile plastered on her face.

Diana felt herself blush, as she couldn't help but be entranced by the spark of joy that shone in the other girl's ruby eyes. Akko, turned to face forward once more, breaking Diana free of her gaze, leaving the blonde witch to blush even harder, wondering how foolish she looked staring at her like that. It really would be in her best interest to get her…'troublesome' feelings for her friend under control. While looking back on it, Diana supposed her crush on Akko could have started as far back as the Samhain festival, it wasn't until after the two had stopped the potential world ending missile did Diana truly realize just how badly she had fallen for her. Up above the clouds, surrounded by a sea of stars, and the thing Diana found most beautiful was Akko's smile.

Ever since then, her crush had only worsened. It was becoming increasingly difficult to focus in classes she shared with Akko, as each time she found her attention drifting towards the brunette witch. Whether she was asleep at her desk, or her face scrunched in concentration, Diana couldn't help but stare lovingly at her. It extended beyond class too of course, as Diana was spending nearly all her free time with Akko. It wasn't uncommon nowadays to see the blue, red, and green teams all hanging out together, the nine girls having become increasingly close over the past few months. It wasn't out of the ordinary for her to be seeing Akko so much, after all they shared the same group of friends...or at least that was the rationale Diana had tried to sell to herself. In reality however the blonde girl was practically going out of her way when it came to seeing Akko. From offering to help her study to teaching her how to ride a broom, Diana saw more of Akko than she did her own roommates. Of course she was far from opposed to this, but was worried that it was making her feelings for the other girl become to obvious. She kept telling herself that she needed to tone it back, only to find she was constantly ignoring her own advice. Much like she was doing at the moment. She should have told Akko no. She should have returned to her quarters and gone to sleep. She should be following school rules, and not be wandering the halls at this hour. Yet here she was, Akko's hand in her own, as she followed the Japanese girl to see who knows what.

As the two girls walked, Akko seemed to lead her along on autopilot. Somehow the brunette girl seemed to know every hallway, corridor, and shortcut like the back of her hand. She even knew the paths of others on patrol, and was careful to tell Diana when they needed to lay low. The heiress frowned slightly at this, figuring this kind of finesse could only come from regular practice sneaking. She had hoped that Akko getting caught stealing from the kitchen less and less meant that the girl had simply stopped doing it, but now it was quite obvious she was just getting better and better at dodging detection. Diana figured that she should probably have a word with her about that at some point. She didn't get to ponder on it for much longer however, as Akko pulled her from their current hiding spot, and towards the entrance to the gardens.

"Come on Diana, we're almost there!" Akko whispered excitedly.

The shorter girl upped her pace, causing Diana to lightly jog to keep up with her. Where on earth were they headed? Was it something in the gardens that Akko so desperately needed to show her? That would have been her prevailing theory had Akko simply not blown through them all together, leading Diana towards the woods beyond.

"Wait, Akko," Diana felt herself say before she even realized it, uncertainty in her voice. Akko stopped immediately, turning to look back at her curiously. Diana slowly retracted her hand from the other girls grip, clutching it into a fist at her chest.

"Are you sure about this?" Diana asked. "Those woods lie beyond school boundaries. We could get into serious trouble for going in there." Diana looked away as she spoke, desperately trying to avoid her crushes questioning gaze, knowing a frown probably wasn't too far behind. Diana hated seeing her frown.

Instead however, Akko smiled softly, putting her hand to Diana's cheek, and slowly turning her head back until their gazes met.

"I'm 100% super duper sure about this!" She said joyfully. "I just know you'll love what I want to show you. But…," Akko said, pausing slightly before continuing. "We don't have to go right now if it'll make you uncomfortable. The last thing I want is to get you in trouble!"

Diana's eyes widened in surprise. She hadn't expected Akko to go back so easily, and had expected her to not be upset about it even less.

"Really?" the young Cavendish asked.

"Really!" came Akko's chipper response. "I can always try and find a less risky spot anyway, maybe even one on campus."

Diana blinked at this. Now she was confused. What did Akko mean by 'finding another spot'? Once again Diana found herself wondering just what it was Akko wanted to show her. Diana sighed inwardly as she realized her curiosity was starting to get the better of her. Something like this really could only happen with Akko.

"What do you mean? What are you showing me Akko?"

Akko merely grinned in response, taking Diana's hand once more before gesturing to the woods behind her.

"Something incredible, I promise! Do you trust me?"

Diana gulped at the question. Of course she trusted the brunette girl, it would be ludicrous to say that by this point she didn't. Yet she could still feel uncertainty gnawing at her. What if they got caught? Going off school grounds without permission was a serious offense, not to mention doing it after curfew. She would probably be let off easy, being the school star, but what if Akko wasn't offered that same mercy? What if she couldn't save Akko from getting punished, or worse expelled? What if-

Diana met Akko's eyes worriedly, only to find herself entranced once again. The sparkle in the Japanese girl's eyes, the joy and excitement harbored there, all but melted away Diana's lingering apprehension. Shaking herself out of her stupor, Diana nodded her head.

"Of course I trust you Akko, with all my heart," the british girl whispered.

It was hard to tell in the dark, but Diana could have sworn she saw Akko blush as her smile widened.

"Good! Then let's go!" Akko said before resuming leading Diana into the woods.

The two were only walking a few short minutes, Akko warning Diana of any potential tripping hazards before they came upon a small clearing. As they stepped past the treeline and into the open, Akko dropped Diana's hand, turning on a dime to face her with an excited smile.

"Well, this is it!" Akko said before flopping onto her back in the grass. Diana merely stood in place, dumbfounded.

"A...clearing? You dragged me all the way out here in the middle of the night...to show me a clearing in the woods?" Diana asked incredulously.

Diana frowned slightly as Akko snorted at this, and started to laugh. Despite her ire, the heiress couldn't help but note how melodic Akko's laugh sounded to her.

"No silly," Akko said as her laughter died down. "I wanted to show you that." Akko raised her arms, and gestured widely to the sky. "Look up."

Diana did as she was told, and found her breath taken away. Up above, in the patch of sky provided by the forest clearing, a myriad of stars shone brightly. Dots of light painted the darkened tapestry as the stars seemed to dance all around them. Diana was absolutely stunned. The sight was gorgeous. She slowly turned her gaze back to Akko, a look of awe on her face. Akko smiled, patting the patch of grass next to her. Taking her up on the silent offer, Diana laid down next to the shorter girl, getting an even better view of the sky above.

"It's- It's beautiful Akko," Diana said quietly. " I haven't seen the stars this clearly since-"

"Since we stopped the missile together," Akko said, finishing Diana's thought for her. "I thought the exact same thing when I stumbled upon this place and I dunno...I just felt like I had to show you."

Despite the awe of the moment, Diana couldn't help herself from asking, "Wait what do you mean 'stumbled upon'? How did you find this place?"

Akko let out a nervous laugh as she rubbed the back of her head. "Oh you know… I was just...walking around?" Akko turned to the other girl, seeing that Diana was totally unimpressed with her unconvincing lie.

"Akko…" The British girl began somewhat sternly.

"UGGGH, FINE!" Akko said exasperatedly. "I may or may not have been doing some late night broom racing with Amanda...and crashed landed here after a bad turn"

"Akko! You've only just started flying! That could be dangerous!" Diana grabbed the other girl's hand giving her a disapproving look.

"It wasn't anything crazy, in my defense. We weren't even going fast, we stayed low to the ground, and Amanda even made sure to catch me if I fell!" Akko said hurriedly, not wanting the other girl to worry about something that had already happened.

"The how did you end up crashing?" Diana asked, unconvinced

"Look that doesn't matter right now," Akko retorted. "What matters, is how dang pretty the sky looks." With this, Akko turned her eyes back to the stars. Diana rolled her eyes, but couldn't help but smiling before doing the same.

The two laid like that for awhile, simply staring at the stars, quietly enjoying one another's company. Feeling particularly brave, her common sense be damned, Diana even moved to lay her head on the other girl's shoulder. While Akko had initially tensed at the contact, she soon eased into it, resting against Diana as well. They must of have been lying there for hours before Akko broke the silence, raising their joined hands and point at the sky.

"Do you see it Diana? The Shiny Rod."

Diana turned her gaze skyward, looking to where Akko was pointing. There, in the sky the Ursa Major shone proudly above.

"I know it's kind of silly to say, but I kinda feel like it's watching me in a way. Almost like it's up there, looking out for me," Akko said quietly, almost at a whisper as if her words could chase the stars away.

Diana smiled, giving Akko's hand a slight squeeze as she lowered it back down.

"It's not silly at all Akko," Diana said, equally as quiet. "The Claiomh Solais choose you after all. It would make sense that it wants to make sure it's accident prone wielder is alright."

Diana couldn't help but giggle at Akko's resulting pout and whisper-yelled 'Hey!'. Diana's laughter stopped however, when she felt an affectionate squeeze from Akko. Turning to face the other girl, Diana met her gaze.

"The Shiny Rod doesn't have to keep me out of danger, because I know I can count on you for that Diana," Akko said brightly, hitting the young Cavendish with the sweetest of smiles.

Diana could practically feel her heart beat out of her out of her chest as her face lit up with a bright red blush. Trying to hide this fact from Akko, she returned her gaze to the stars. Akko giggled at her embarrassment, following suit and looking up once more.

The two once again fell into silence for awhile, before Akko broke it once more.

"The stars really are beautiful, aren't they?" the brunette asked quietly, a sort of wistfulness to her tone.

Diana slowly turned her eyes back to Akko, taking in her bright smiling face, and sparkling red eyes. While Diana couldn't deny that the stars were in fact, shining very beautifully tonight, she couldn't help but realize for the second time in her life, she found Akko infinitely more beautiful.


	2. Day 2 First or Casual date

**AN:This particular piece takes place in a typical college AU. Nothing special, I just wanted to branch out a bit. Also, they are still in the UK, so they are using Celsius, not Fahrenheit.**

* * *

"So, how do I look?" Akko asked her roommates, giving a slight twirl.

"Like an idiot worrying too much about what to wear," came Sucy's dry reply. Akko was less than amused with this answer.

"Lotte!" Akko said with a whine, turning to her other friend. "Sucy is being mean!"

The girl in question gave a nervous chuckle in response.

"I'm sure what Sucy is trying to say is you are worrying too much Akko. You look lovely," Lotte said.

Akko perked up a bit at this, but her smile soon faded once more into a nervous frown. She turned back to her full body mirror, taking in her appearance. She wore a short, white skirt and a sleeveless red blouse. Despite having just bought the outfit for this occasion, Akko couldn't help but feel like it wasn't enough, like somehow it looked cheap. Sensing her friend's discomfort, Lotte walked up behind her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Akko, trust us. When Diana sees you, she'll be speechless," the orange haired girl said sweetly.

Placing her hand on Akko's other shoulder, Sucy nodded in agreement.

"That lovestruck dork is obsessed with you. You could probably show up wearing a potato sack and she would gush about it for hours."

"Sucy...," Lotte began with a slightly disapproving tone.

Sucy rolled her eyes before responding, "All teasing aside your outfit looks great Akko."

Akko let out a sigh of relief. She knew in her heart that her friends were right, but couldn't help the insecurity she felt. She was going on a date with Diana-freaking Cavendish. The star student of the University, the heir to a wealthy family, and the most beautiful girl Akko had ever seen. Akko had harboured a crush on the British girl ever since she met her on her way to her astronomy lecture. She had gotten herself hopelessly lost trying to find the science building, and had been looking down at a map when she quite literally ran into Diana. From the moment she met her eyes, Akko felt herself fall head over heels for her. Thankfully, the girl was as kind and helpful as she was beautiful, and spent next to no time sending the blushing Japanese girl on her way. Akko didn't remember anything from her lecture that day, her mind was too preoccupied, filled with daydreams of the platinum blonde.

Over the next few weeks, Akko had done absolutely everything in her power to "run into," Diana again. From waiting outside her classes, to "coincidentally," going to the same coffee shop as her. Luckily for Akko, Diana had been just as smitten, and was glad to spend time with her. Still Akko had been quite shocked, and very pleasantly surprised, when Diana had asked her out for what would be their first official date. Akko cringed internally as she thought back to how badly she had stumbled over her words, desperately trying to get out a coherent response. In the end, she could only offer a nod.

The Japanese girl was shaken from her thoughts as she realized that Sucy was trying to ask her a question.

"Eh? What was that? Sorry I was-"

"Spacing out again?" Sucy asked flatly, cutting the her off mid sentence. The pale girl rolled eyes before holding up a brush in her hand. "I was asking that if I could help you with your hair finally, if your done having a meltdown about your outfit that is."

Ignoring the small jab, Akko nodded, a smile on her face. She pulled a chair from her desk to in front of her mirror, and plopped down into it. After she had told her friends about the date, they had offered to help in all sorts of ways, with Sucy surprisingly offering to do Akko's hair. According to her, Akko's normal 'mess of a ponytail' simply wouldn't do for the date. As Sucy set about brushing out Akko's hair, Lotte helped her apply her make up, and before long Akko was ready to go.

Standing in front of her mirror one more time, Akko took in her updated look. She didn't often wear her hair long, she thought it was more trouble than it was worth, but had to admit that she looked quite good with it down. Akko couldn't help but smile. She really did have some incredible friends. Thanks to them, Akko was finally starting to feel like she was ready for her date.

"Alright! No more worrying from me!" She exclaimed excitedly. "Akko Kagari is ready to sweep Diana off her feet!"

* * *

Akko Kagari decided that she was so not ready for this date. She sat in her chair, fiddling with her hands as her mind ran wild. Sure she had shown up to their regular coffee shop quite early, probably one of the only times she was early in her life, but she couldn't help but grow more and more anxious with each passing second. What if Diana didn't show up? What if she decided that Akko wasn't as charming as she initially thought? What if this wasn't even really a date at all? The thought had just popped into Akko's head and she already felt her stomach flip out in dread. Had she misread the situation? Sure Diana had asked her if she wanted to grab a coffee with her, but what if she meant it as a friend thing, not a "I think you are cute and want to date you," thing? If that was the case, Akko was sure she was about to make the absolute biggest fool of herself.

Akko had been so self absorbed in her increasingly negative thoughts that she hadn't even noticed when Diana walked in through the door. When she gave a small cough to get her attention, Akko nearly jumped out of her skin. Diana couldn't help but giggle at her startled reaction.

"Is this seat taken?" she asked smoothly, gesturing to the chair across from Akko.

"Diana!" Akko Shouted as she leap up. She could feel her face start to heat up before continuing, "I didn't see you come in…"

Diana gave another giggle before sitting down, and motioning for Akko to do the same.

"I-I have to say Akko," the heiress began, showing a rare, flustered moment. "You look quite beautiful…"

Akko felt her heart soar at these words. Sucy and Lotte had been right all along! Her worries were all but melted away when she heard Diana continue,

"But are you not...maybe a tad bit...overdressed?"

If she could have, Akko was pretty sure she would have melted into the floor right then and there. She was so wrapped up in worrying about looking her absolute best, that she hadn't even considered that she could have been going over board. Looking at the other patrons in the shop, Akko could see that Diana was right. The shop had always been a small one, and with it so close to the university, it was highly popular with the students. There was practically no one else besides her that looked to be wearing anything beyond casual. Even Diana herself, Akko noticed, was in casual wear, although with her regal air she made any outfit look ballroom worthy. The blonde girl was wearing a beige sweater, with a white shirt underneath, along with a pair of black pants, and brown zip up boots. The date had just started and already she had messed up. Akko's mind spun as she tried to quickly think of a game plan. Maybe she could go back home and change? Or maybe she could go back home, crawl under her bed, and never leave the house again. Yeah, that sounded good.

Diana must have noticed her distress, and spoke again.

"Not that there is anything wrong with that of course!" she said quickly. "You really do look absolutely lovely. It's just- I usually- I don't know, I guess I have an eye for these sorts of things." the heiress gave a small frown. "I'm sorry, Akko. I shouldn't have said anything."

Akko was quick to respond.

"No, no it's fine, Diana really! I just feel a bit silly is all," the brunette said with a nervous chuckle.

This made Diana's smile return, as she leaned across the table and took Akko's hands in her own.

"Don't. You are fine." Diana gave a sly smile before continuing, "The jewelry might have been a tad overboard though." Diana broke into a fit of laughter as Akko gave her a playful pout in response.

After that, the date progressed very smoothly, if Akko did say so herself. The two spent a long time talking about practically anything and everything, and all the nothing in between. As their time together was starting to wind down, Akko decided to self evaluate how she did. While she had screwed up in the beginning, she thought she did a pretty good job in recovering. She was able to offer Diana all kinds of sweet compliments, and was even able to order Diana's favorite drink for her completely from memory. That must have totally looked suave right? She felt herself grin proudly at her accomplishment. She was way wrong earlier. She could totally get the hang of this dating stuff.

Hearing Diana laugh again, Akko looked up at her date.

"What's that look for?" Diana asked playfully. "Deciding which fancy outfit you will wear next?"

Akko blushed at the slight tease, shaking her head to clear her earlier thoughts.

"Nah, I was just-just thinking about some stuff.." she replied lamely.

Thankfully, Diana didn't press the issue.

As the two made their way to the exit of the shop, Akko couldn't help but feel sad that the date was ending. Sure she had been an absolute nervous wrecking going into it, but once she had gotten past that she couldn't help but realize how much fun she had simply talking to Diana. She decided right then and there that she would extend their time together.

"Hey Diana, let me walk you home!" Akko said brightly.

Diana turned to look at her, raising an eyebrow questioningly.

"Are you sure about that Akko? My apartment is in the exact opposite direction of your dorm."

Akko smirked at this, putting her hands on her hips proudly.

"I'm super sure! The distance is no big deal for someone as fit as me." she said boastfully, a playful air of bravado about her. Being on the cross country team payed off in more ways than one.

Diana giggled at this, before putting a hand on Akko's shoulder.

"I was more referring to the fact that it's 10 degrees out and you aren't wearing any sleeves."

As if to prove the heiress' point, a gusty wind blew, causing Akko to shiver. Moving to rub her bare arms she realized that maybe a sleeveless blouse wasn't the best thing to wear in the middle of November.

"I see your point," Akko conceded.

Diana gave her a soft smile, before pulling her into a tight hug. Akko could feel her face heat up again, just knowing that she probably looked as red as her blouse.

"Don't catch a cold on your way back okay," Diana whispered into her ear.

Akko could only nod dumbly in response. Leaning back, Diana looked her directly in the eyes, and proceeded to place a light kiss on her cheek. Turning away, Diana waved goodbye to the now stunned Japanese girl.

"Bye, Akko! I'll see you on Monday!" Diana called over her shoulder, as she walked off towards her apartment.

Akko gave a weak wave goodbye, before slowly lowering her hand to her face, touching where Diana had just kissed her. All she could do was simply stand there in shock, as a feeling of absolute giddiness wash over her. It may have been bitterly cold out, the wind maybe have been blowing harshly, and she may have not been wearing sleeves, but as she touched her cheek, Akko could feel nothing but warmth.


	3. Day 3 Cuddles

**AN:** **This the shortest blurb yet, and I think the shortest thing I have ever posted. I don't know why, but I kinda struggled writing it. I hope you all** **enjoy anyway.**

* * *

For Luna Nova's resident klutz, it had been a particularly long and tiring day. Professor Finnelan really had a knack for giving energy draining lectures. Akko sighed as she trudged her way through the halls. Nothing sounded better to her at the moment than crashing down on a soft bed and just passing out. Of course it was the particular company that would accompany said soft bed that she was really yearning for. There was no stronger cure for a hard, exhausting day, then cuddling with her girlfriend. With the thought of fluffy pillows and Diana's pretty smile in her mind, Akko felt somewhat reinvigorated, skipping the last of the way to Diana's room.

After having knocked, she didn't have to wait very long before Diana opened the door with a smile, moving to let the shorter girl in. Akko shot her girlfriend a tired, grateful smile, before entering the room and promptly flopping onto Diana's bed. Having finally made it to her goal, Akko let out an exaggerated sigh of relief. Diana couldn't help but laugh at the display.

"Tough day?" she asked her girlfriend playfully.

"You have no idea," Akko replied tiredly.

Diana shot her a small smile, before taking a seat at her desk. Akko simply laid there for a few minutes before realizing that something was wrong. Diana had yet to join her. Sitting up slightly, Akko swung her gaze to where her girlfriend was seat. She frowned deeply when she realized just what the heiress was up to.

"Diannnnnaaaaa," The Japanese girl started with a whine. "You're not seriously working right now are you?"

Diana let out a small sigh, before turning to face her.

"Actually Akko, yes I am," ignoring Akko's groan of frustration, she continued, "We have a test coming up in magic history and I want to make sure I'm prepared." From the look on Akko's face, Diana could tell she was far from amused. "You could always benefit from some more studying yourself you know."

"We can study later!" Akko retorted. "Right now I need cuddles!"

Diana couldn't help but giggle at this. Akko wasn't alone in her want to relax, but Diana was determined to at least go back over her notes for the day. They would always be time to snuggle up to her girlfriend later.

"I promise you Akko, I'll be over in a bit. The faster you let me finish my notes the faster we can cuddle," Diana said in a tone that let Akko know there would be no budging on the matter.

Akko however, wasn't ready to take no for an answer. Well, Diana hadn't said no, but she had never been known for her patience anyway. With surprising speed, Akko leapt up from the bed, and scooped Diana up out of her chair. The surprised blonde gave a startled squeal as she unceremoniously dumped onto her bed.

"Akko!" the flustered Brit exclaimed. "What in the name of the ancient nine do you think you are doing!?"

With a happy chuckled Akko threw herself belly down next to Diana. Sighing contently, Akko wrapped her arms around the taller girl's waist, and pulled her close.

"Akko I'm serious! I have work to finish!" Diana tried again, already feeling her resolve slip.

The brunette girl's only response was to snuggle up closer to her. This was bad. If this kept up, Diana knew she would cave, and absolutely no studying would get done this night.

"Akko," The heiress started carefully. "If you don't let me finish studying my notes, you will get no cuddles for the rest of the week."

She felt Akko tense at that, and for a second she thought she had the brunette right where she wanted her. That didn't last very long however, as Akko tightened her grip and gave Diana a big kiss on her cheek.

"Akko, I'm serious," Diana said, in one last attempt. The attempt was in vain however, as Akko merely giggled in response.

"Awwww Diana, we both know yah couldn't stay away from me for that long," the Japanese girl said slyly, nuzzling the cheek she had just kissed.

Diana let out a frustrated sigh. Akko was right. From the very beginning her threat held zero weight. There was always tomorrow right? It wasn't like her notes were going anywhere. Resolved to her fate, Diana shifted in Akko's arms to face her.

"Alright you win this time Akko," She conceded "But I'm serious about getting my work done tomorrow alright?" If Akko was listening she didn't show any sign of it.

It was then that Diana realized that the shorter girl had drifted off to sleep. Diana let out another sigh as she slowly stroked her girlfriend's face. What a troublesome girl she was. Going through all the effort to get her to lie down with her only to fall asleep almost immediately. Diana felt herself smile as she looked at Akko's sleeping face. If she wanted to go back and finish her notes, now was the time to do so. Once Akko was asleep, it wasn't easy to wake her. Diana was sure she could get up, finish up her work, and return back to the bed before Akko so much as stirred. She could do that... but hey, there was always tomorrow.


	4. Day 4 Protection

**AN:** **Okay wow so I'm following up the shortest thing I wrote with the longest! I don't know what it was, but something just clicked with this one, I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

"Ouch! Diana! I thought you said this was supposed to be healing me, not hurting me!" Akko whined as Diana tried to avoid rolling her eyes.

"I already told you Akko," Diana began to explain, "the spell is going to sting a little."

As she spoke, the Luna Nova prodigy carefully moved her wand across Akko's forearm. A pale green light shone from its tip, and as it passed over the other girls skin, the cuts there slowly vanished. Watching the cut close up, Diana let out a sigh of relief. They were lucky Akko's injuries had been minor. Her heart hurt to think about what could have happened had they been worse.

"You don't have much room to complain you know." Diana said sternly. "Afterall if you had thrown yourself so recklessly in front of the salamander you wouldn't have gotten hurt in the first place."

If Akko was bothered any by her friend's reprimand, she didn't show it. Instead she just started giggling to herself. Diana frowned at this.

"And what is it you find so humorous about all this?" she asked.

Akko stopped her laughter before responding, "I still can't believe that it's called that."

Diana blinked at her confused.

'You are saying that you are laughing...because you think the salamander has a silly name?" the blonde girl asked incredulously.

"Well yeah!," Akko said, holding back another round of giggles. "Salamanders are supposed to be those cute little amphibians you know? The ones that look like lizards?" At Diana's unimpressed expression, she continued. "So I just think it's pretty funny that this 'big, scary fire monster' shares a name with them," Akko explained as it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Diana was not amused.

"Akko this is serious! It's not a creature to be taken lightly! Weren't you paying any attention to the lecture?" Diana asked in a reprimanding tone.

Akko slowly shrunk back, her goofy smile from earlier turning into an ashamed frown. Diana felt her heart twist at this, but continued regardless. Akko needed to hear this.

"Salamanders are highly dangerous, and highly unstable elementals! What you did was reckless! What you did was stupid! What you did-"

" _Was to save you_ ," her mind finished for her. " _If it hadn't been for your mistake, Akko wouldn't have gotten hurt._ "

It never should have come to this. She never should have let Akko end up in harm's way.

* * *

It had all started out as a fairly standard day of their Magical Beast's class. Diana personally found the subject quite intriguing and had been looking forward to it for most of the day. Yes, that was why she had been excited for it. Because it was interesting. It had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that she shared the class with a certain brunette trouble maker. In fact it had even less to do with the fact that she was in the same group as said trouble maker. As Diana walked past the gardens to the outdoor lecture hall of the class, her mind drifted back to the night under the stars she and Akko had shared just a few days ago. She couldn't help as she blushed a deep red thinking of just how close the two had been. She had rested her head on the other girl's shoulder for Beatrice's sake! If her feelings for Akko weren't obvious to the other girl before, it was no doubt in Diana's mind that they were now.

Oh how she wished she had exercised more self restraint. It must have just been the intimacy of the moment that made her act so rashly. Just the two of them, enjoying each other's company under the stars. How could she have not wanted to be close to Akko in that moment?

" _Maybe you want her to know,_ " she said to herself internally. " _Maybe you just really want Akko to know how much you think about her._ "

The thought was terrifying to Diana on some degree, but not totally inaccurate, she realized. There was no point in hiding her feelings anymore, she decided. It was time for Diana Cavendish to admit her feelings...eventually. Maybe.

As she arrived to class, Diana shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts of her and Akko's star gazing escapade. She was going to focus on this lecture and nothing else.

"Diaaaannnnnaaa!" came an excited call from across the field

Or at least she thought she was. Changing her face into a neutral expression, Diana turned to face the oncoming Akko and her two friends.

"Hello Akko," The blonde girl greeted with a small smile. "I'm happy to see you actually arrive on time."

Akko gave her a proud smile at this.

"Although I'm sure she has the two of you to thank for that," Diana said, addressing Lotte and Sucy.

"You have no idea. She was out cold just a few minutes ago. Waking her up from a nap is just as hard as getting her up in the morning," Sucy said with a mischievous snicker.

"HEY! You don't have to tell her all that!" Akko said, turning to her friend with a pout.

Diana giggled at this. Akko really was adorable when she was frustrated…

"No, nope. Not doing that. Think of something else," Diana reprimanded herself.

Thankfully, she didn't have to struggle long before Lotte changed the topic of conversation.

"Where are Hannah and Barbara?" the spectacled girl asked.

"They will be joining us shortly," Diana said clearing her throat. "They had to finish up some work for Professor Finnelan. Part of their punishment for their, 'indecent display of public affection'."

Akko snorted in laughter at this.

"I still can't believe that the got caught kissing after her class!" the Japanese girl said brightly. As someone who was frequently the target of Finnelan's ire, Diana was sure Akko must have enjoyed seeing someone else be in her sights.

"Still it's not like they were makin' out or being gross or anything. They hardly deserved a punishment. Finnelan can be such a stick in the mud," Akko concluded.

"Regardless, they were breaking the rules. The student handbook clearly states that any form of public affection beyond hand holding is forbidden in the halls," Diana said.

"Awww come on Diana, lighten up a bit!" Akko said with a smile. "Besides it's fun to break a few rules sometimes, right?" with this, Akko shot her a wink, and Diana could feel her face heat up.

Thankfully, before anyone could comment, Hannah and Barbara came to her rescue, arriving just as Professor Nelson was starting class. While many knew her as Luna Nova's broom riding instructor, Professor Nelson also had quite the pension for the wilderness, and very much enjoyed teaching her magical beasts class. Ever since magic had been in the decline, magical beasts had become scarcer, appearing less and less. It was thought that without enough magical energy in the world to support them, they were all simply dying off or vanishing. Only ancient and powerful creatures like Fafnir, who found other means aside from magic to live off of remained. This decline meant that there hadn't really been a need for the magical beasts class, so it was dropped from Luna Nova's curriculum. After all, know one knew if running into such creatures would ever be a danger again.

However, thanks to Akko and the shiny rod, magic had returned to the world in full force. With this return came a flurry of reports across the magical world of creatures, long thought extinct, appearing in greater numbers than ever before. It didn't take Headmistress Holbrooke very long to decide that the course was needed again, and Professor Nelson was more than happy to volunteer to teach it.

"Alright then class," the professor began in a commanding tone, silencing the gathered students. "Today we'll be covering the very important topic, of elementals. Can anyone tell me what an elemental is?"

Calmly, Diana raised her hand. Seeing this, Professor Nelson smiled.

"Yes, miss Cavendish?" she asked.

"An elemental is any magical entity who embodies and or personifies a force of nature, and therefore possess the powers of elemental cognizance, elemental detection, elemental generation, elemental manipulation and elemental immunity. Though these abilities remain exclusive to the elemental's own unique element."

"Very good Miss Cavendish!" Nelson said after a moment of stunned silence. "Such a complete answer. I'm very impressed."

Diana smiled to herself, letting a small amount of pride wash over her. While she would never let it go to her head, Diana had always enjoyed getting praise from her teachers. It made her feel like her long hours of study were really worth it.

"Wow, Diana," an awed Akko whispered as Nelson continued the lecture. "That was incredible! You know so much!"

Diana felt her heart skip a beat as a light blush colored her cheeks. Why was it that Akko's words of praise made her feel even better than any teacher's ever had? She tried not to ponder on this fact, as she turned to whisper back to her.

"Thank you Akko, but we should focus on the lecture."

Akko gave her a big grin and a quick nod, making the motion of zipping her lips shut. As Diana turned back to face the front of the room, she couldn't but help think to herself how adorable the act was. Diana was torn from her thoughts however as she heard her name called. Snapping her head up and looking towards her professor, Diana realized that she had been called on again to answer a question. A question where she had no idea as to what was asked of her. Already she had broken her promise of not letting Akko distract her.

Trying to not let her embarrassment show in her voice, Diana responded, "No, I'm sorry professor I'm not sure."

If Nelson seemed far from disappointed by this however, a huge grin stretching across her face as she started to wave her wand.

"Not a problem Miss Cavendish. That gives me the honor of introducin' the brute myself," Professor Nelson said as she finished casting a spell.

In a large puff of green smoke, the area that had once been empty in front of the instructors wand, was now occupied by a large, seafoam green cube. Upon closer inspection, the cube seemed to be more of a cage than just a solid shape, as several small slits ran from the top to the bottom, and an old padlock was linked through it at the right, keeping it firmly shut. Through the slits in the cage, an reddish, orange sphere shone with a soft glow.

There was something hypnotic about it, Diana realized, almost as if the sphere was commanding the attention of all present. Despite the gentle glow it was giving off, Diana couldn't help but feel a sense of unease from it. Glancing at her group mates, she could see that she wasn't the only one, as even Sucy fidgeted uneasily.

"This, is what's known as a salamander ladies. One of the meanest, and most common of fire elementals," Professor Nelson said, gesturing grandly to the cage.

The prevailing silence that had fallen among the students was suddenly interrupted by a short bark of laughter. Diana realized with a start that the laugh had come from none other than Akko. Looking over her shoulder with a questioning look, Diana saw that Akko had already moved to cover her mouth with her hands.

Something funny, Miss Kagari?" Professor Nelson asked sternly. If there was one thing Nelson was infamous for, it was how she hated to be interrupted.

"Uuhhh, no ma'am, Nelson Sensei!" Akko said quickly, dropping her hands from her face and facing her attention forward.

"Very well then," the teacher said with a 'hmph'. "I think it's about time I woke the bugger up!"

With this exclamation, Professor Nelson shot a red bolt from her wand directly into the cage, strike the dormant elemental. The reaction was almost instant. Flaring to life, the trapped elemental gave an angry wail as it took shape. Where there had once been a sphere, was now a small, hunched over humanoid figure. Even if it had been standing at full height, the salamander wouldn't have even been four feet tall, but it still held a menacing air about it. It started out at the gathered witches, it's blank, white eyes, burning into them all as it scanned the crowd. Slowly, the caged creature extended one of it's arms, gripping the bars of its prison with a clawed hand. Slowly, bright orange flames began to flicker off of it's arm, extending to just outside the bars.

"Alrighty then!" The instructor exclaimed, "Now it's time for your assignment!"

Gathering a bundle of supplies she had set down nearby, Professor Nelson walked among each group, distributing materials as she started to explain.

"It's a well known fact that not only are fire elementals immune to fire, but they are highly resistant to magic of most kinds. Even water based magic will only extinguish them and their flames briefly, and our friend here is no exception." Having finished handing out supplies, Nelson returned to the front of the class. "Your assignment is work in your teams of six to construct the extinguishing element I have left you instructions for. Every team that can successfully douse our friend's fire, gets a passing grade for the day."

Out of the corner of her eye, Diana could see Barbara slowly raise her hand.

"P-professor," the raven haired girl began shakily. "Are you sure it's a good idea to let that thing make fire?"

While she wasn't as shaken as Barbara clearly was, Diana had to admit that she was also quite apprehensive at the idea of letting the salamander have any form of freedom.

"Don't worry Miss Parker! As long as this lil' hell raiser is in this cage, he's not hurting anyone." As if to prove her point, Professor Nelson waved her hands in front of the bars. "The cage is made of enchanted seafoam. It weakens fire elementals and fire magic."

With their safety somewhat, assured, the groups began their task. As Diana read through the instructions, Akko and the other's moved to form a circle around their materials. Yes this was perfect. If there was one thing to get Diana's mind razor focused, it was an assignment and instructions to follow.

"Alright then," the heiress began, addressing her group. "It seems like the extinguisher is comprised of two major pieces. It would be within our best interest to divide the tasks among out two teams of three."

"Makes sense to me," Lotte said with a smile. "Who should do what?"

Diana looked back at the instructions. The extinguishing device was almost missile like in structure, and explosive head made of the aforementioned seafoam supported by an enchanted length of cedar wood. When it was complete, the projectile was attached to the end of one's wand, and fired with a simple expulsion spell.

"Well the head has to be carefully filled with cooling magic, slowly and carefully, or it could prematurely explode-," Diana explained.

She hadn't even finished said explanation when almost the entire group turned to stare at her.

"W-what it is?" she asked, carefully.

"You should totally do that part," Sucy deadpanned in response. "There is no way I'm even gonna entertain the idea of letting Akko near it."

"HEY!" Akko shouted. "What's that supposed to mean!? I helped save the whole world yah know!"

"So did Diana," the lavender haired girl retorted. "And she has a much smaller rate of things blowing up in her face."

Akko gave her friend an annoyed pout at this, but silently conceded her point. Seeing the other girl's frown, Diana shot her a small smile.

"It's alright Akko," she said sweetly. "The body is just as important. I can trust the three of you to carve it correctly?"

Akko lit up at this, nodding eagerly.

"You bet Diana! One extinguisher-missile-thingy rod coming right up!" Rolling up, her sleeves, Akko turned to their instructions, a determined look on her face.

Diana felt herself warm at Akko's excited demeanor, and her heart positively burst at her adorable focused face.

" _Focus,_ " she reminded herself, " _You have to focus_."

Gritting her teeth, Diana turned to her task at hand. Steeling herself, she softly said the incantation for the needed cooling spell, and began to fill the seafoam. This particular spell was fickle, and relied heavily on the user controlling their emotions. Diana figured that she should be grateful for this fact, as it meant she absolutely had to keep her mind off of the adorable brunette, sitting only a few meters away.

Why was it that she had such a hard time focusing when the other girl was around? Sure she had a massive crush on her, but surely that shouldn't be enough to sway all her thoughts like this. A crush was just a crush after all. Simple. Fleeting. Silly flings of the heart that faded with time. Of course Diana would be lying to herself if she said that any of those descriptions matched her feelings for Akko. She wasn't sure how, but she was sure that they ran much deeper than any basic, surface level attraction. She didn't just like Akko because she was attractive, although that was definitely a contributing factor, but because she was determined. Because she was so joyful. Because she was at her core, a bright, beautiful person. It struck Diana right then and there that if she really did feel for Akko past any the level of any basic crush...then it meant she loved her, right?

" _Love. I'm in...love with Akko,_ " Diana thought to herself.

Suddenly Diana felt like she was experiencing a million emotions at once. Happiness at how much she loved Akko, relief that she was able to accept this within herself, hope that Akko felt the same…and most prevalently, fear, that she didn't. What if Akko didn't share her feelings? She had to on some level right? Why else invite her to go see the stars? Unless that had only been platonic on Akko's part. Would Akko hate her if she told her, would she be disgusted? Should she tell her?

As all these questions swirled in her head, and all these emotions raged in her heart, Diana started to panic. She was spiralling, and felt like she was gonna pass out. Thankfully, Hannah calling her name brought her back to reality. Unfortunately, it was for a rather terrible reason.

"Diana!" Her friend shouted worriedly, pointing to the extinguisher head that Diana was working on "That things gonna blow!"

Quickly glancing down at the object in question, Diana realized that Hannah had not been exaggerating. The enchanted seafoam of the extinguisher head expanded dangerously, glowing a soft pale blue as the cooling magic within it filled it to the point of cracking. Her heart sinking into her stomach, Diana realized she had made the most amatuear of mistakes. She had let her emotions run wild, and her spell get out of control. Before she could even think to warn her professor, the extinguisher head, filled to the brim with magic, shot out of Diana's hands, rocketing towards the cage.

There was a sudden loud bang, as the incomplete projectile connected with the seafoam structure, exploding on impact. The class grew deathly quiet, as they all turned to see who had fired it. Overcoming her slight moment of shock, Professor Nelson turned to her class angrily.

"Alright, who was it that-" the teacher was cut off mid reprimand as a quiet thud rang throughout the field.

Having been damaged by the explosion, the old padlock that had been keeping the salamander contained fell from the cage door, and with an ominous creak, it swung open. The reaction from the creature was instant. It leap forth, blowing past the cage door and into the open. The very second it was free from its constraints, the soft glow of the salamander changed to a harsh blaze, tongues of orange, red, and gold flames stretching out for its arms. Having spent the last few days of its life weakened and imprisoned, the salamander was furious, and it let this be know as it gave a blood curdling wail. Turning to scan the crowd of now terrified young witches, the creature singles out its first target. The one who had the audacity to launch something at it.

Diana's mind swirled as the next events seemed to play out in slow motion. She could vaguely make out someone calling her name, most likely Professor Nelson, as the enraged salamander leapt towards her.

" _Raise your wand! Protect yourself!_ " her mind shouted to her, but she stood still in shock.

The glowing blaze of the creature grew closer, and then was suddenly blocked from her vision. Despite her shocked state, Diana immediately recognized the soft brown that now filled her sight. Akko jumped between her and the salamander. Fear gripped Diana's heart, but not for her own safety, for Akko's.

Akko wasted no time, and with all her might screamed out the incantation for a water spell. A powerful jet of water spewed for the end of Akko's wand, completely engulfing the elemental. The creature however, continued its charge. Now a pale red, it's fire temporarily gone, the salamander descended on the short brunette, extending its claws.

" _No! This can't be happening! No!_ " Diana shouted internally, as the elemental attacked her friend.

"Akko!" She screamed aloud in terror. Desperately, Diana raised her wand, ready to do anything she had to get the monster away from the one she cared so much for.

Thankfully, help arrived quickly, in the form of their Professor.

" _Delendis rit conferatur!_ " Nelson shouted, as a large black bolt flew from her wand and blasted the salamander off of Akko.

The monster gave a wounded screech, a large portion of its abdomen now missing. No longer liking its odds, it turned and ran towards the woods.

"Akko!" Diana shouted as she ran to the Japanese girl's side, who at the moment had landed face down. "Akko are you okay!?" she asked desperately.

Diana felt her blood chill as the other girl only groaned in response. However, this chill quickly turned into an overwhelming feeling of relief as Akko turned onto her back. While there were several scratches on her arms, none of them seemed too deep, and aside from the cut across the bridge of her nose, Akko had emerged from the encounter unscathed.

"Uggghhhh," The Japanese girl groaned as she slowly sat up. "Dids I geet emm?" she slurred.

"Kagari!" Nelson called in a panic as she ran to her student. "Are yah okay!?"

Despite her previous shock, and the absolute whiplash of emotions she was feeling, Diana managed to respond.

"She's fine professor. Just a little groggy," She choked out, tears of relief sliding down her cheek.

Nelson nodded in confirmation, addressing Diana and the rest of her group.

"Can I trust you girls to get her to the infirmary? I gotta go take out that son'va bitch before it burns down the whole forest."

In any other situation, Diana would have been shocked at the professor's use of profanity, but in this situation, she could hardly blame her.

"You can count on us professor!" Lotte answered proudly, despite the worried waver in her voice.

"Good! See to it then!" Professor Nelson said before charging off. "Oh and tell Professor Du Nord I might need some backup!" She called over her shoulder as she disappeared into the woods.

* * *

It hadn't taken long for the group of six to arrive at the infirmary, and had taken even less time for Akko to start complaining about practically being carried there.

"Guys!" the Japanese girl said with a whine. "It's just a couple of scratches! I can walk myself."

"Absolutely not!" Barbara responded, shaking her head in disapproval.

Parotting her motion, Hannah continued, "After all that you're crazy if you think were gonna let you possibly hurt yourself even more."

"I'm not gonna hurt myself walking!" Akko exclaimed exasperatedly.

"Your previous track record of tripping says otherwise," Sucy retorted, shifting to adjust Akko's arm on her shoulder.

Akko could only let out a frustrated groan as they entered the infirmary. It was no secret that by this point, Akko was far from a stranger to the white walls and pure white sheets. She had been to the school infirmary for more magical mishaps than perhaps anyone else in the schools whole history. So when her friends carried her in, the school nurse let out a tired sigh.

"Miss Kagari, hello again." the shorter old woman greeted. Margery Martins had been the nurse of Luna Nova for over 60 years, and she swore that Akko alone had made her work more in this year than she had in the other 59 put together.

"Ehehehe, hi Martins Sensei," Akko greeted with a chuckle, waving her hand.

After being sat down on a free bed by Lotte and Sucy, the nurse slowly examined Akko's injuries, taking her hand in her own, and turning it over in order to inspect the girl's forearms.

"And how exactly did you get these nasty things? Fell off your broom again?" the old woman asked with a chuckle.

"It was all my fault Professor," Diana said sadly, shocking everyone in the room. She had remained deathly quiet the whole trip here. "She was only protecting me…"

"Diana…," Akko said sadly, trying to look into the blonde girl's eyes.

Diana, however, was resolute in staring at the floor.

"Hmmm, I see," Professor Martins said slowly. "Well it doesn't matter how you got them, just how I'm gonna get rid of em. Unfortunately for you Miss Kagari, I have very important business in helping Professor Lukic administer a wolfsbane potion to some poor sap in town. Since your injuries are only minor, I'll have to leave healing them until I get back."

Diana snapped up her head at this, looking to her professor. Professor Martins might not be able to help immediately, but she could. She was going to make up for this, she had to.

"Professor, I can help heal Akko's injures," Diana said carefully. "I've helped you out in the infirmary before, and I'm more than capable of healing wounds such as these."

Nodding her head at this, Professor Martins hummed in agreement.

"Very well. Do be careful though Miss Cavendish. The rest of you scram. Leave her room to work."

It had taken a large amount of reassurance of her well being before Lotte and Sucy were ready to leave Akko's side. Hannah and Barbara had left only moments earlier to warn Professor Du Nord of Nelson call for potential reinforcements.

With the just the two of them left, Diana had set about repairing Akko's injuries, when she had started to feel strangely angry at the girl. How could she be taking this so nonchalantly? Didn't she understand how worried she was? Didn't she understand how much danger she was in? Of course it was then that Diana reminded herself of how the whole thing was her fault, which lead her to the cry the silent tears she was now.

Staring at the floor, Diana clenched her fist, desperately trying to hide her tears from the worried brunette sitting right in front of her. Needless to say, she was far from successful.

"Hey, Diana," Akko started softly, moving closer to her. "What's wrong?"

Diana just couldn't bring herself to look up. She knew Akko probably had a sympathetic look on her face right now, and Diana just couldn't face it. She didn't deserve her sympathy. It was then that Diana lightly felt fingers touch her chin, slowly lifting her head up. Bright blue eyes met fiery ruby ones.

"Please don't cry Diana, I'm fine. Promise," Akko said softly.

Diana shook her head, and in spite of herself, started to cry harder.

"It's not that Akko…," Diana said a whisper. "It's all my fault... It's my fault you got hurt."

"Don't say that-" Akko tried to say, but Diana cut her off.

"No!" the heiress shouted suddenly, leaving Akko to reel at the change in volume.

"I was the one who lost control of the extinguisher! It's my fault the cage broke open, and my fault the salamander got loose!" Diana was crying freely now, her tears leaving streaks on her face. "I got you hurt!...and even worse...I could have gotten you killed," she finished at a whisper.

Suddenly, Akko launched forward, wrapping Diana in a near crushing embrace. While stunned at first, Diana slowly melted into it, hiding her face into the crook of the other girl's neck. They sat like that, for awhile, as Diana cried into her shoulder and Akko stroked her hair slowly, trying to calm her. As her tears eventually died down, Diana hear Akko start to talk.

"You know, you shouldn't blame yourself too much Diana," Akko said softly. "I jumped in front of that thing because I wanted too. I didn't want to see you get hurt."

Despite everything, Diana gave a quiet chuckle.

"What happened to me keeping you out of danger?" She asked quietly

"It goes both ways. You protect me, so I can protect you!" Akko said with a smile.

Diana laughed quietly at this, feeling herself smile against Akko's skin. Only Akko could make a terrible situation like this afternoon lead to a sweet moment. That was just one of the reasons why she loved her so much. That's right. She loved her, and today she almost lost her. It was then that Diana decided there would be no more waiting.

"Akko," she started quietly. "There is something I wish to tell you. Something important."

"What's that?" came the equally quiet response.

Leaning back so she was looking Akko in the eye, Diana steeled herself for the explanation to come. No going back. Not anymore.

"Earlier, when I lost control of the projectile head... It was because I was thinking about you," Diana paused here to gauge Akko's reaction, but got nothing but a determined look, signalling her to continue.

"These past few months… I've come to realize that my feelings for you...my adoration...stretches beyond that of platonic ones," again she paused, and again nothing.

"I was trying not to ponder on them when I was working, but it was then that I realized that I'm...I'm in..love with you Atsuko Kagari. It was that realization that made me lose control."

For what seemed like an uncomfortably long amount of time, Akko said nothing. Then ever so slowly, she wrapped Diana back into another hug.

"Akko?" Diana questioned quietly.

"Why do you think I thought of you when I found that star seeing spot?" Akko responded. "Why do you think I jumped in front of near certain death to protect you?"

Diana felt her heart beat heavily in her chest. Was Akko saying what she thought she was saying? It couldn't be.

"Akko, what are you saying…?"

Akko let out a quiet giggle, before pulling Diana back to face her.

"Do I gotta say it out loud? I love you too, Diana."

Diana felt her heart soar, and was sure, that in that moment, she was the happiest she had ever been.


	5. Day 5 Spellbound or Enchanted

**AN: I wanted to give a shout out to the first reviewer of the fic, Dragons reaper** **101** **! Thank you for your kind words! I glad you are enjoying my work!**

* * *

Akko was used to messing up. She was used to the groans that would come from her friends and teammates, the rolling eyes of her teachers, and the small flicker of disappointment she felt within. That being said, after having saved the world, Akko had worked hard to lessen her screw ups. She focused harder in her classes and even accepted Diana's offer to help her study afterwards. With each day she was getting farther and farther away from the clumsy witch she had built a reputation for...which only made the times she did still screw up sting even more.

It had all started one day after her visit to Professor Ursula's (or, was she supposed to call her Professor Du Nord now?). Akko had taken time out of her days to see her favorite teacher not only because she enjoyed her company, but because the redheaded witch was helping to tutor her prodigy in the ways of illusion magic. Akko had practically hounded her old idol to teacher the spells she had used in her performance days, and it wasn't long before Chariot agreed.

Surprisingly, much like she had with metamorphosis, Akko displayed a knack for the showy brand of magic. It wasn't long before the Japanese witch in training was able to conjure her very own magical fireworks. Eager to learn more, Akko thought it time she asked the secret to Chariot's mastery of her own transformations.

"Well Akko, the transformation spell I use isn't very different than the one you use," Chariot explained.

"But…?" Akko pushed, just knowing that there was more to it than her mentor was letting on.

Chariot let out a sigh. Somehow she just knew this was going to come back to bite her on the butt.

"But it's a much more powerful and difficult variant. I'm afraid it's a tad bit too advanced for your current level," the professor said with an air of authority.

Akko recognized the tone instantly. While she may be her favorite student, Akko would be the first to tell anyone that Chariot wasn't afraid to express her authority as a teacher over her when she needed to. There was sometimes were no, simply meant no. Regardless, Akko decided she would try and push her luck anyway. The idea of her transforming into her own centaur form, galloping through the air, was simply too strong of a temptation.

"Pretty please, Ursula Sensei?" Akko asked, still referring to her mentor by her old fake name. "I promise I'll be super careful practicing it!"

She gave her mentor the best puppy dog face she could muster. Unfortunately for Akko, Chariot's will was too strong, and despite a slight moment of hesitance, stayed firm on her earlier ruling.

"I'm sorry Akko, but not today," the red haired witch said, giving her student a sympathetic smile.

Akko slumped her shoulders in response. She had expected this outcome, but still felt bummed anyway. Still, she had a fun time with today's lesson, and figured she shouldn't let it end on bad note. Standing up with a smile on her face, Akko addressed her teacher.

"Ah oh well, I'll get there someday. Thanks again for today, Ursula Sensei! I'm getting better and better, I just know it!" At this declaration, Akko pumped her fist in the air.

Chariot giggled softly at her prodigy's antics, before returning her bright smile.

"That you are Akko. Who knows? Maybe you won't need my help anymore," Chariot said. She was proud of Akko. Only but a few months ago Akko hadn't even been able to cast a correct spell. Now, she was well on her way to becoming the next great Shiny Chariot.

"Don't say that Ursula Sensei! I'll always need help from my favorite teacher!" and with that Akko moved to wrap her startled mentor in a quick hug, before turning for the door.

"Bye Ursula Sensei! I'll see yah on Friday!" She called over her shoulder as she dashed out the door.

Unknown to her teacher however, a plan was brewing in Akko's mind. While she was sure that Professor Ursula meant well, she couldn't help but think that she was underestimating her. Akko just knew that if she had taught her the advanced transformation spell, she could have galloped out of her office rather than walked. Thankfully, Akko knew of a way to go about learning the spell herself. Ever since Diana had started helping her study, the blonde heiress had gotten her access into the advanced section of the library. Many of the Luna Nova teachers, Professor Finnelan especially, had been somewhat opposed to the idea, but Diana had spoke up for her, saying that she had just as much right to the higher learning as anyone else in the school. Akko smiled at the memory, Diana standing next her so proudly, and Finnelan's shocked face when the other teachers all eventually agreed.

The last time the two of them had been studying, Diana had taken her into the advance section of the library. While Akko had tried to focus on the material Diana was going over, her eyes couldn't help but wander, when the spine of a book caught her attention. " _Becoming a Stronger You: The Secret of Transformation Magic."_ If there was anywhere she could learn Ursula's forbidden transformation spell, it was from that book. She had to admit, she felt a little bad about using the access Diana fought so hard to get her for such a selfish reason, but figured the British girl would understand once she saw awesome the result would be.

Akko felt herself blush as she imagined Diana staring at her in absolute awe. There was no way she was going back now. Giggling happily to herself, Luna Nova's resident troublemaker made her way to the library.

* * *

It was after Dinner when Akko was finally able to slip away from her friends, and try out the new spell. Once the others had all begun to head back to their rooms, Akko had made a rushed excuse about having to meet Diana to study before taking off down the hall. The room she had chosen for her impromptu spell practice was one she was no stranger to. More than once, Diana and her had used the empty classroom for their study sessions. The room had once been used for the no longer existing class of Magic Mineralogy, and had remained vacant, ever since.

Making sure no one was watching her, Akko opened the door of classroom, and slipped inside. Just as she had predicted, the room lay completely devoid of persons. Unlike the other classrooms of the school, the old Mineralogy room had a large stretch of open space, and various tables for students to sit at situated near the back. Grinning widely to herself, Akko stepped into the open area, and pulled out her wand. This was going to be so cool. Eagerly, she took the concealed spell book she had taken from library out from under her vest where she had hidden it. Flipping to the page she had bookmarked earlier, Akko excitedly began to read over it.

" _Metamorphie Magnificum,"_ Akko read aloud with a whisper. She felt her excitement rise. Even the name sounded cool!

Taking a deep breath, Akko tried to reign in her excitement, a turned back to the page a determined look on her face.

While she had genuinely intended to read the whole thing, the book was very long winded in its explanation. Akko understood the need to go over what the spell did, but did it really have to talk about its origins? Quite frankly, as long as it could help perform amazing transformations, Akko could care less about which witch created it, or who stole ideas from who. Couldn't the book just get to the wand motions yet? That's all she really needed to know to cast it. Deciding that she should just skim the rest of it, Akko came to the technique section of the spell. She could feel her earlier excitement return as she carefully studied the listed hand motions, and stance.

Taking a deep breath, Akko set the book down, and assumed the needed stance. This was it! She was gonna achieve a transformation that would blow everyone's socks off! Akko scrunched her face in thought as she pondered her what should she turn into? The centaur she had envisioned earlier certainly was a tantalizing prospect... but it would probably be a good idea to start smaller. Maybe only change one or two body parts. Maybe she should give herself some wings! Or-

Akko's face lit up as an idea struck her. A mermaid form! Yeah, a mermaid that could swim through the air like it was water. Of course it was probably best to just stick to the tail for now. Akko giggled excitedly to herself at the thought. Resuming her earlier stance, Akko started to envision her goal in her head. She thought long and hard, seeing her legs change, and be replaced with a long, elegant, coral pink mermaid tail. She had this. She was ready. Taking in another deep breath, Akko waved her wand, and bellowed with all her might.

" _Metamorphie Magnificum!"_

Unfortunately for Akko, at the very second of her casting, the door to the classroom opened, and in walked Diana.

"Oh Akko, there you are. I was going to-,"

The effect was instant. That single moment, that slight distraction, was all it took for Akko's mind to shift focus. Of course the second her mind shifted focus to Diana, so did the target of her spell. A brilliant flash of green light filled the room, temporarily blinding Akko. As the she slowly regained her vision, she heard Diana give a yelp of surprise, followed by a loud thud.

Turning around quickly, Akko looked to her friend, hoping she wasn't hurt. Diana lay flat on her back, almost as if someone had knocked her legs out from under her. Of course in reality it was more like someone had taken said legs away from her, as they had vanished completely, replaced by a long, pink, mermaid tail. Akko gasped at the sight, covering her mouth in surprise. Diana groaned as she slowly sat up, rubbing the back of her head. Akko waited with baited breath as the other girl slowly looked downward, coming to a realization of what had happened.

Rather than the angry outburst she had been expecting, Diana let out a tired sigh.

"Akko," she began slowly. "Why did you see it fit to give me a fish tail?"

Akko laughed nervously, secretly returning the spellbook to its hiding place.

"Well, uh...technically it's a mermaid tail Diana," she said with another nervous chuckle.

Diana stared at her, unamused.

"Alright then," the heiress said, slightly annoyed. "Why did you see it fit to give me a _mermaid_ tail?"

Akko swallowed nervously as she tried to think of an explanation and fast. She couldn't let Diana know about the spell.

"Well you see, I was just practicing some of my transformation magic," Akko said, hoping Diana wouldn't catch on to what she was hiding. "The tail was uh, supposed to be for me. I just lost focus when you walked into the room."

Diana frowned slightly at this.

"My apologies Akko. I didn't mean to interrupt your practice," Diana said sincerely.

Akko waved her hands in front of her, shaking her head quickly.

"I-it's okay Diana! You don't have to apologize, really! I'm the one that gave you a tail after all."

Akko breathed an internal sigh of relief as Diana let out a small laugh.

"Yes I suppose you are right," the British girl said.

" _Diana seems to be taking this whole thing really well!_ " Akko thought to herself. "Maybe this isn't such a bad thing after-"

"If you don't mind, however, I'd like my legs back please."

Akko's mind froze mid thought as Diana's request rang through it. Her earlier feelings of panic and nervousness returned full force as she gripped her wand.

"A-are you sure? Cause you make a really pretty mermaid," Akko said. While she had said it to divert Diana's attention, she wasn't lying. Diana really did look like a perfect fairytale mermaid.

Diana blushed at Akko's compliment, turning her head and crossing her arms. Letting out a quick cough, she tried to regain her composure.

"While that is very kind of you to say, yes I am quite sure I'd like my legs back," Diana said, turning back to face Akko. She quirked a brow in confusion as Akko started to sweat bullets.

"Akko, is everything-"

"Everything is A-okay! Yup it's all 100%!" the Japanese girl said suddenly, cutting Diana off. "One pair of Cavendish legs coming right up!"

As she shakily raised her wand, Akko's mind swirled in a panic. The book hadn't mentioned anything about reversing the spell! At least not that she could think of. She prayed to whatever powers may be that she could undo the transformation with her normal spell.

" _Metamorphie Faciesse_!" Akko called as she waved her wand in the familiar motion.

There was a flash of green, and then...nothing, as Diana still sat on the floor, mermaid tail and all. Akko felt panic grip her. Maybe she just had to try harder.

And try harder she did, as Akko repeated the motion and shouted louder than before, " _Metamorphie Faciesse_!"

Again, nothing happened. It was two more tries of this before Diana finally spoke up, having noticed something was amiss.

"Akko...Is there something wrong? Something you would like to tell me?" Diana asked carefully.

Akko felt herself pale as she realized she was going to have to tell Diana the truth. The blonde girl was going to be so disappointed in her. Akko frowned deeply as she pictured the scolding she was going to receive. Part of the reason she had wanted to do this was to impress the other girl, and she had ended up doing the opposite.

"I, uh..can't undo the spell.." Akko said quietly, disappointment heavy in her voice.

Diana merely blinked back at her, confused.

"Surely you're joking," she said in disbelief. "I've seen you turn into an elephant. Surely you can change a simple fishtail."

"Well...if I used my normal transformation spell, than yeah I could," Akko said, now looking at the floor. "But I may or may not have used an advanced spell Ursula Sensei told me about…"

Diana let out another tired sigh.

"Well then we best go see professor-"

"NO!" Akko cut her off with a yell.

Diana jumped back in surprise at the sudden outburst.

"We can't Diana! If there's one thing we can't do it's go see Ursula Sensei!"

Akko had been so worried about what Diana was going to think of her that she hadn't even stopped to think about how her favorite teacher would react. She was going to be so angry with her. The red haired witch had specifically told her she wasn't ready for the spell, and Akko had gone behind her back to test it anyway. Turns out Ursula was right. She was far from ready.

"Akko," Diana started softly. "Why not? What's wrong?"

Akko didn't even realize she had started crying until she heard Diana's tone soften.

"...Ursula Sensei told me I wasn't ready to try it," she said with a sniffle. "She's going to hate me when I tell her what happened…"

Diana gave her friend a soft smile.

"Akko, Professor Urs-Professor Du Nord would never hate you. You know how much she cares about her students, how much she cares about you."

Akko's only response was another sad sniffle.

"Sure she may be disappointed with you, but she would never hate you," Diana said.

"What about you Diana?" Akko said, catching her off guard. "Do you hate me?"

Diana slowly shook her head. "Of course not Akko. I could never hate you either…"

Akko felt her mood pick up slightly at this, her heart giving a flutter. Diana was right, Ursula Sensei may be her teacher, but she was also her friend. Even if she might give her a punishment, Akko was sure the red haired woman would do everything she could to help her.

"You're right Diana! Let's go see Ursula Sensei!" Akko declared loudly, making her way to door.

"Um, Akko? How exactly do you expect me to get there?"

Akko froze in her tracks at this. It was a good question. Diana had already displayed earlier that she was in no way capable of supporting herself on those flimsy fins. The best option, Akko realized, was simply to bring Ursula here. She was about to suggest just that when another idea popped into her head. Akko felt her face slowly heat up at the thought.

"I could always uh...carry you there…" Akko said, a blush lighting up her face.

"C-carry me!?" Diana said with an embarrassed squeak.

Akko felt herself blush harder at her friend's flustered response. Despite their current situation, Akko couldn't help but feel giddy at the prospect. Just the thought, her carrying Diana down the hall, bridal style, the beautiful girl's arms wrapped around her neck as she cradled her in her own. It sent Akko's heart soaring.

After a long pause, Akko realized with disappointment that Diana was opposed to the idea, or at least she thought she was. Clearing her throat, Diana finally spoke.

"That's...not such a bad idea," she said, a blush coloring her face as well. "Just make sure that we aren't seen. I'm sure I speak for both of us when I say that we don't want anyone asking questions about this." she gestured to her tail.

Akko nodded in agreement. Walking to where the heiress lay, Akko knelt down.

"Ready?" the brunette girl asked.

"Ready," came Diana's determined response.

In one quick motion, Akko scooped Diana off of the floor, and began her trek back to the Astral Tower.

* * *

While she had mostly forgotten about it on the way there, thanks to carrying a certain beautiful impromptu mermaid, Akko felt her apprehension at having to explain her mistake to her mentor return full force as she entered the Astral Tower. Still, she needed her help. Diana needed her help. It wasn't long after Akko had knocked that the door to Chariot's room swung open.

Chariot stood in the doorway, dressed now in her red tracksuit. The French witch gave her two students one glance before letting out a sigh. She supposed she should have guessed something like this would have happened. Stepping aside, Chariot motioned for the two girls to come in. Akko walked through the Door, Diana in her arms, and Chariot closed it behind them.

There was a long pause. Akko was the first to try and break it.

"Ursula Sensei, I can explain."

Chariot merely shook her head, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"I don't need you too Akko. I think it's pretty obvious what happened," she said, looking her prodigy in the eye.

Akko's face split into a large frown, tears already starting to well up in her eyes. The last thing Chariot wanted to do was kick her when she was down, but her student needed to hear this.

"Akko I had specifically told you that you weren't ready for this spell."

"I know," the brunette admitted sadly. "But I just thought that-that if I proved you'd wrong, you'd be impressed with me. You both would…"

Diana blushed slightly at this admission. Chariot put a hand on Akko's shoulder, giving her a small smile.

"You've already impressed me so much Akko. You don't have to try potentially dangerous spells to."

Akko face slowly changed to that of a smile. She nodded her head in understanding.

"Now then," Chariot said raising her wand. "How about I give Diana her legs back?"

"Oh!" Akko exclaimed, having forgotten briefly that she was still carrying the other girl. Following Chariot's instruction, Akko set her down on the professor's bed, and stepped back.

Pointing her wand purposefully, Chariot waved her wand, silently casting the powerful transformation spell. A green swirl launched from her wand, wrapping around Diana's tail. When it had vanished, Diana's legs had returned, skirt and all. The young Cavendish breathed a sigh of relief, and Akko let out an excited cheer. Running forward, she wrapped the blonde girl into a big hug.

"Yay Diana! You're back to normal!" she said happily. "I was worried that I made you a mermaid forever!"

Diana blushed as Akko swung her around excitedly. Clearing her throat, she spoke up.

"Yes, I am quite happy too. Do you mind um...setting me down, however?" She asked bashfully.

Akko realized just what she had been doing, and slowly put the other girl back on her feet, scratching the back of her head while laughing nervously.

"Well, now that is settled, It's probably a good idea for you girls to head back to your dorms. Akko, we can talk about your punishment tomorrow. Don't worry, I'll keep it between us," Chariot said, as she opened the door.

A small part of Akko had hoped she would have been able to get off with just a warning, but she knew that a punishment of some kind was only fair. Afterall, Ursula Sensei was be incredibly lenient by not telling the headmistress of her transgression.

"Thank you, Ursula Sensei," Akko said, bowing to her teacher.

Diana smiled before following suit. "Yes, thank you very much Professor."

Chariot gave a bashfully laugh waving off their thanks.

"Oh it was nothing. Just doing my job as your teacher."

Bidding their teacher goodnight, Akko and Diana made there way to their rooms. The sun had already set, casting Luna Nova's halls in the final glow of twilight. Turning to face the girl next to her, Akko rubbed her arm bashfully.

"Hey Diana, thanks for taking this whole thing so well. And sorry about turning you into a mermaid…," she said quietly.

Diana smiled at her, taking the other girl's hands into her own.

"It's quite alright Akko. The whole thing was… kind of nice," the heiress finished with a blush.

Akko's face lit up a similar red as she thought back to how nice Diana felt in her arms. She gave the other girl a bright smile.

"I wasn't lying earlier when I said you made a pretty mermaid you know," Akko said. "You looked like you had just come out of a fairytale book!"

Diana's whole face lit up red at the compliment. She didn't really have much time to react to it however before Akko pulled her into a hug.

"Goodnight Diana," the Japanese girl said with a whisper. To her delight, she felt the other girl hug her back.

"Goodnight Akko."


	6. Day 6 Crossover or AU

**AN:** **So for today I did both a crossover and an AU. What exactly did I pick to crossover with? It...I-t's Yu-gi-oh. The answer is Yu-gi-oh GX. So to all 5 of you who will enjoy that, this is for you!**

* * *

"I Just don't get it!" Akko said angrily, as she marched down the halls of the Luna Nova Duel Academy. "Why does Finnelan have to pick on me so much? No else has to duel for their right to even stay in the school!"

"That's because no one else was caught sneaking around the restricted section of island," Diana replied coolly, turning to look at her companion.

Akko gave her a small frown.

"She's just mad that I beat her during the entrance exams…" Akko muttered to herself.

It had come as quite a shock to the professor, and pretty much everyone present for the exams, when some seemingly nothing girl who had shown up late had conquered her most powerful monster, and had dropped her life points to zero. Akko remembered quite clearly how the older woman had just stood there, mouth agape, blinking in disbelief as to what had just happened. While it was cool to beat a teacher and all, Akko had just been happy to have had a fun duel. Of course she had also been quite happy about getting into the school of her dreams. Finnelan, however, must have seen the whole debacle as an insult to her honor or something. Ever since she had gotten to Luna Nova it seemed like the brown haired woman had it out for her, trying everything in her power to get her expelled.

The stuffy teacher's latest scheme was far from her most elaborate, but still an annoyance all the same. Just because she may or may not have been exploring the forbidden dorms a bit, Finnelan had immediately called for her expulsion. Thankfully, Akko's favorite professor and basically mentor, Ursula, had spoken up for her. In the end, Headmistress Holbrook had come up with a sort of compromise. On the day of Midterm finals, Akko would have to duel against an opponent of Finnelan's choice. If she won, all was well, and her trespassing would be forgiven. If she lost...she was getting put on boat head back to Japan. Akko wasn't too worried, after all she believed in her deck, and the key to winning duels was a believing heart! There was no way she was going to let herself lose! This logic seemed perfectly rock solid to her, but a certain prodigy disagreed.

Akko turned to look at Diana out of the corner of her eye. The girls actions were...suspicious to say in the least. Diana had approached Akko after class, breaking into a lecture about how she needed to properly prepare for her duel, and how just winging it was a terrible idea. The scolding had ended with Diana demanding that Akko come with her, and that she would help her through some proper training. For the life of her Akko couldn't figure out why an Obelisk Blue like her would go out of her way to offer help to a Slifer Red like herself. Most Obelisk Blue students wouldn't give a Slifer Red a passing glance. Diana wasn't just in Obelisk Blue either, she was the school's top duelist! It simply made no sense. Sure she and Diana had been on better terms ever since Akko had helped her stop her crazy aunt from taking over the Cavendish family, but was that really enough? Did Diana actually consider her a friend now?

Akko snorted at the thought. " _Nah, that'd be way too good to be true,_ " she thought to herself sadly

After a few more minutes of walking, the two duelists in training arrived at the practice field. Akko could feel herself getting excited. She half expected Diana to lead her to the library to study a bunch of books about duel theory or something, but Akko was happy to see the platinum blonde girl had something much more practical in mind. Even if it was just a practice match, the prospect of a duel never failed to get Akko's heart racing.

"Now then," Diana said, stopping and turning on a dime. "While you may not be thinking about your dueling strategy, I have."

The heiress started to pace back in forth, as she started her explanation.

"It's no secret that in a duel, you like to tend to rush forth, acting before thinking."

"Hey! I do to think!" Akko said with a huff, trying to defend herself.

Diana nodded at her in confirmation, but continued anyway.

"While you are far from a brain dead duelist Akko, and the strategies you come up with on the fly are impressive, you almost always fail to consider your opponent's strategies. You pay little mind to potential traps they have set face-down or to monster effects they may be baiting you into activating," Diana explained.

Akko felt her frown deepen.

"What makes you think you know so much about my dueling style, huh?" the Japanese duelist said, slightly put off.

Diana merely blinked calmly before responding, "Because I've beaten your dueling style Akko."

Akko felt herself blush in embarrassment. She was right. Akko had no idea how she could have forgotten, even for a second, as the memory played back in her head, as clear as the day it happened. How she had found Diana ready to board a boat and leave the school. How she had questioned her decision and loudly declared the blonde girl as her rival. How she had challenged her to a duel to decide if she would leave or not. How she had lost, and for some reason she didn't quite get yet, felt absolutely crushed as she watched her sail off into the night.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Akko brought herself back to the present. Embarrassment still burned on her face as turned to look at a wall, finding it suddenly very interesting.

"...point taken," Akko said quietly. "Please continue."

Diana hardly needed any more persuading, as she resumed her earlier explanation. The British girl made sure she covered any and everything, from how to improve her dueling technique to what kind of decks an opponent might use to shut Akko's down. It was all very through...and all so very long. More than once, Akko found herself close to nodding off as the Diana talked on, snapping herself back to attention right as the other girl would turn to look at her. As boring as Diana's lecture was, Akko had to admit it was very informative, helpful even. She hadn't even considered before that she could combo Shiny Magician's monster effect with the Twin Twister spell card. With the tech that Diana was teaching her, there was no doubt in her mind that she was going to become an even better duelist.

This of course made Akko circle back to the question of why. Why was Diana going through all this trouble just to help her? Why did she do all this extensive research into her deck rather than her own? Why spend all this time on her?

" _Why did you try so hard to stop her from leaving? Why did you go through all that trouble to bring her back_?" she asked herself internally in response.

Nope. Not going there. Too many confusing feelings about all of that. Besides, Diana's reasoning couldn't have been anything like that...right? For some reason, Akko decided she had to know. She looked to the other girl who was standing an arm's length away, going through Akko's extra deck.

"Hey, um...Diana?" Akko asked nervously.

Diana hummed in acknowledgement, signaling for Akko to continue her question. She swallowed the nervous lump in her throat before steeling herself to continue.

"Why is it...well I was just wondering...W-why are you…?" Akko asked, unable to finish a thought. For some reason her mind was a swirl.

Looking up from the cards in her hands, Diana raised an eyebrow in question.

"Why am I...what?" she asked confused.

Akko fidgeted with the duel disk strapped to her arm, debating whether she should just drop the whole thing or not.

"No," she thought to herself. " _I gotta know._ "

With new determination, Akko looked Diana in eyes.

"Why are you doing all this? Why are you helping me?"

Diana blushed at the question, a reaction Akko hadn't really expected, but wasn't entirely unwelcome. Diana looked very cute when she was embarrassed. Managing to hold Akko's gaze, she responded,

"Because you are my friend Akko, and the last thing I want is to see you expelled."

Now it was Akko's turn to blush, as her eyes widened in shock.

"Do you really...consider us friends?" Akko asked hopefully. She couldn't believe what she had heard.

"Akko," Diana started slowly. "You came halfway across the world, risked your life to fight a battle you had no stake in,...just so I could comeback to school and follow my dreams. I think it's more than fair I consider you my friend."

Diana gave her a sweet smile, her cheeks still flushed red. If the heiress seemed to notice, she certainly didn't care.

"Ah well, I couldn't let my rival get away now could I?" Akko responded with an embarrassed chuckle.

Diana's smile widened.

"No, I suppose not, and I'm eternally grateful that you didn't." Diana moved to take Akko's hands in her own.

"Now it's my turn to return the favor."

Akko felt her heart soar. She wasn't really sure what she was feeling, or why, but right now she could hardly care. Diana said she was her friend, Diana was holding her, and Akko couldn't be happier.

"Don't worry Diana!" Akko said proudly. "There is no way I'm gonna lose that duel! You're stuck with me!"

Diana giggled before pulling Akko into a hug.

"I sure hope so."

Never in a million years did Akko think she would be growing so close to Diana Cavendish. Maybe she should be thankful to Finnelan after all.


	7. Day 7 Freeday

**AN:** **The final day has come! For today, I decided to write this silly concept I came up with a while back. This has been one heck of a project for me, and is probably the most I've consistently written in a long time. Thank you to everyone that stuck with me to the end, and thank you to the wonderful people who started this! Without further ado, enjoy day 7!**

* * *

There were many things important to a witch, but none more important than her familiar. A familiar was more than the servant, or pet non magical humans thought they were. A familiar was a partner in arms, a beacon of trust, and above all else, a friend. While the most common familiar's came in the form of typical animals, such as crows, cats, wolves and frogs, there were records of witches who had bonded with creatures of magic. Golems, mermaids, griffins, even mighty dragons, all have been seen at least once, serving alongside exceptionally powerful witches.

So it was no doubt in Akko's mind that when it came time for the students of Luna Nova to find their familiars, that Diana's was going to be something spectacular. The excitable Japanese girl couldn't help but imagine grand images of her girlfriend fighting alongside a dragon, or healing the wounded with a phoenix. Of course she was also excited to find her own partner in magical crime, but she had long known what she wanted her familiar to be; A kind and elegant crow, just like her mentor. She hadn't a single clue as to what Diana hope her familiar would be, and she was dying to find out. That was why, several days before the familiar finding ceremony, when the two of them were in Diana's room studying, Akko asked her girlfriend eagerly.

Akko was practically bursting with excitement as she tried to guess what Diana would answer. A Raven? No, that seemed a tad to dearly for the platinum blonde, (although perfect for Sucy). Perhaps a cat? Diana had never really expressed a fondness for them, but Akko could see her snuggling up with one happily. Maybe a Horse! Diana did own several she was fond of back at-

" _Wait! That's it_!" Akko exclaimed internally. How could she have not seen it before? If there was one creature that was fit to be Diana's familiar, it was a unicorn.

She had summoned one back at the Samhain festival, and they were even the patron animal of Diana's family! It all fit so well! She could see it now. Diana's beautiful flowing hair blowing in the wind as she rode atop her elegant horned steed. Yes, Akko was sure that a unicorn would be Diana's answer...which only made Akko even more baffled when Diana gave her real answer.

"I'm sorry, you want your familiar to be a what now!?" Akko asked in shock.

Diana tilted her head slightly in confusion.

"Should things go the way I planned, I would like my familiar to be a snake," she repeated calmly.

Akko simply started at her girlfriend slack jawed. So she had heard her right the first time. Akko couldn't help but wish she hadn't.

"A snake!? Like the big slithery reptiles!? Like the ones you're aunt has!?" the Japanese girl questioned loudly.

"One, I don't see why you find the need to be shouting. Two, yes like the 'slithery reptiles,' I'm not sure there is any other kind of snake. Although, I would be quite lucky to bonded with one as regal as my aunt's," Diana said casual, as if saying that she found her aunt's death serpents to be 'regal' was the most normal thing in the world.

Again Akko started at her girlfriend in disbelief. Her early image of Diana riding a unicorn, shattering, replaced by one of her laughing haughtily while a mass of snakes curled around her.

"Whaddya mean 'regal'!? Those death noodles tried to kill us!" Akko exclaimed, throwing her hand up over her head, as if this somehow helped to prove her point.

Diana frowned at this, eyeing her girlfriend carefully. "Just because my aunt commanded them to do evil, doesn't mean I can't appreciate their magnificence.

"Magnificence!? They're snakes Diana, snakes! Creepy, slidy bringers of death!"

Diana didn't not seemed amused by her logic.

"I'll have you know Akko, the serpent has long been part of an important symbol of healing, and an important part of the Cavendish lineage," Diana explained matter-o-factly. "Countless witches in my family history have had snakes for familiars."

Akko grimaced at the thought. "Wouldn't you prefer to buck the trend then?" She asked hopefully.

"No, Akko, no I wouldn't," Diana replied.

The brunette girl couldn't help but frown at this. It just didn't make sense to her. How could someone as beautiful and elegant as her girlfriend be so in love with creatures as creepy as snakes. While she wasn't particularly afraid of them, it was no secret Akko wasn't fond of them either. Just thinking about one slithering across Diana's arm they way Daryl's snakes had made Akko's skin crawl.

"Besides, snakes are nowhere terrible as you seem to think them to be," Diana explained. "While it is true they have garnered a rather unfortunate reputation over the years, it is hardly a fair one." Getting up from her seat, Diana walked over to her bookshelf. She quickly scanned over the spines of the book before pulling one from the shelf.

"In actuality, they're fairly docile creatures, preferring to avoid people rather than attack them," Diana said, flipping to a page in the book and returning to her seat to show to Akko.

As Akko, skimmed over the pages on various snake behaviors, Diana sat back in her chair and watched her.

"You know, even my aunt's snakes were once friendly creatures," the young Cavendish said, thinking back to her childhood. "When I was still a little girl, before my mother died, Daryl would let me play with them. They were as sweet as could be, following me on adventures, keeping me safe from myself, even nuzzling my cheek when I was sad…"

Hearing her girlfriend recount her past, Akko slowly looked up from the book, taking note of Diana's far off look, and the sad, nostalgic smile on her face. Something clicked in Akko's mind, and she started to realize just why the platinum blonde was so set on a snake familiar.

"Well, maybe you'll find a snake just as big and...f-friendly as your aunt's used to be," Akko said, moving to take Diana's hands in her own. Shaken out of her longing stare, Diana looked back at her girlfriend in surprise.

"No, your familiar will be even bigger! And like, a gazillion times sweeter!" Akko continued happily. Diana giggled at this, a beautiful smile replacing her earlier somber one.

"Is that so?" She asked playfully, quirking an eyebrow.

Akko nodded enthusiastically in response.

"Of course it'll never be as sweet as you Diana!" the Japanese girl exclaimed, pulling her girlfriend into an unexpected hug. Quickly overcoming her initial shock, Diana started to laugh, pressing her forehead against Akko's.

It, may not be a dragon, or a unicorn, but if a snake familiar would make Diana happy, and maybe even help remind her of a happier time, than Akko was all for it. Besides, it's not like she'd ever have to see much of it, right?

* * *

It just so happened, unfortunately for Akko, that when you dated a witch, you saw a very good amount of her familiar. Especially if said witch was extremely fond, of the aforementioned familiar. While she had yet to determine if she had predicted the sweetness of the creature yet, Akko sure as hell had guessed correctly about it's size. The snake that came to Diana during the ceremony may not have been as big as her aunt's, but was still huge nonetheless. It's scales shone a vibrant red, intersected with bright, gold bands. Judging by Diana's squeal of delight and the amount of time she spent getting to know her new friend, she was quite pleased.

Akko, however was not. Everywhere Diana seemed to go, her familiar just had to follow, coiled loosely around the heiress' shoulders and right arm. While Akko was happy for her girlfriend, to an extent, this was less than ideal. Cuddling on the couch and holding hands in the halls became significantly more difficult when a large snake was factored into the mix. At this point, she would give anything for just a moment alone with her girlfriend…, and the snake seemed to know it too.

Diana had mentioned that animals that bond with a witch and become their familiars were typically much smarter than ones that didn't. Whether this was a result of the bond or some greater, more natural, source of magic at work no one knew. What was known was that this boost in intelligence was what allowed the animals to communicate in their own complex languages, and understand magic and magical spells. Thankfully, Diana's snake had yet to learn any spells, but what it had learned, was how to tick Akko off. Every time Akko tried to be romantic with Diana, giving her a kiss, or putting an arm around her shoulders, the snake seemed to pop out of nowhere, and muscle himself into their personal space, causing the brunette to jump back in surprise. Diana found this adorable. Akko did not.

She just knew that it was doing it on purpose too. While she had yet to master snake language yet (she was the second best at it in her year, second only to Diana) she was sure she heard the familiar mock her. Diana wouldn't believe her, however, as apparently snake's didn't actually accentuate the letter 's' when they talk, and wouldn't say something as ridiculous as 'jealoussssss?' Still, Akko just knew her and the snake were locked in a silent battle for Diana's attention, and while she hated to admit it, the snake seemed to be winning. Even now, as they sat on a couch together in Diana's room, the platinum blonde cooed happily to the large serpent as it slithered around her arms.

Akko, turned back to the book she held with a pout, pretending that she was reading, and totally wasn't super jealous of a cold blooded noodle. She was pretty bad at pretending however, as it didn't take Diana long to notice.

"Akko, is something wrong" Diana asked sweetly, the slightest hint of worry tinging her voice.

" _Yeah_ ," Akko thought to herself. " _Something is about 7 feet of wrong._ " out of the corner of her eye, Akko saw the snake, now curling in Diana's lap.

"Akko," Diana tried again when she got no answer. Turning to look at her girlfriend, Akko sighed. She just couldn't hide anything from her.

"It's nothing Diana...it's just that…," Akko said, trying to find a way to explain without sounding absolutely lame.

"It's just that, what?" Diana said, prompting her to continue.

"It's just that...I feel like I hardly get to be with you anymore," Akko said softly, already fearing where this conversation was headed.

Diana eyed her in confusion. "I'm afraid I don't understand. Are we not together right now?"

"We are, but...like we aren't _together_ , you know?"

"No, I really don't," Diana replied.

Akko groaned in frustration as she tried to think of a way to get her point across. She was starting to feel silly.

"I mean like...kissing in stuff," Akko said bashfully, turning to look at the floor. He face was a bright red she was sure. "I haven't even held your hand in a week…"

Giggling softly, Diana gave her a sweet smile. "Akko, if you want to hold my hand, you don't have to ask. I think we are well passed that point in our relationship."

Akko felt her frustration ire rise at this. If only it were that easy.

"I'd love to!" Akko shouted, her frustration boiling over. "But everytime I try, _**He**_ gets in the way!" Akko angrily pointed to Diana's familiar, who had remained curled in Diana's lap.

There was a pause, as the room fell silent. Silence, that was broken with laughter. Akko pouted at Diana as her girlfriend tried to hide her giggles behind her hand. She wasn't the only one laughing apparently, as Akko swore she heard a quieter, raspy laugh as well, one she didn't recognize.

" _Damn snake_ ," she thought to herself, as she narrowed her eyes at the familiar.

"Are-are you saying, that...you're j-jealous of Asclepius?" Diana asked through her laughter.

Akko felt her face flush in embarrassment. "Why shouldn't I be! You and I haven't spent a single moment alone since he showed up!"

As her laughter died, down, Diana looked at Akko with smile. "Maybe you're right. I have been spending a large amount of time with this cutie here," Diana paused as she ran her hand along Asclepius' body. "That I've forgotten to spend sometime with this cutie here," she finished, bopping Akko lightly on the nose.

"That's right," Akko said with a huff, crossing her arms. Diana gave her another giggle.

"How about I make it up to you?" Diana asked as she pulled Akko close to her.

"That would be nice…" Akko said, blushing deeply.

Diana needed no further encouragement as she brought their lips together. Akko sighed into the kiss, not realizing until now just how badly she had needed this. Slowly pulling away, Diana smiled at her, adoration burning in her eyes.

"I love you Akko," she said softly. "I'm sorry about neglecting you."

"I love you too Diana," Akko responded, equally as quiet. "Sorry about being a big but earlier."

They laid back on the couch, Akko leaning her head on Diana's shoulder. They didn't sit like that for very long however, as Diana looked down in surprise as she felt as soft thump against her chest. The heiress giggled as her familiar now made his way up and around her shoulders.

"Yes, Asclepius I love you too," she said as she scratched the serpent's head. He flicked his tongue at her happily.

Akko surprised even herself, as she steeled her nerves and moved to pet the snake as well. She was surprised at how cool and smooth the snake's' scales were. Akko felt herself smile. This wasn't so bad, maybe she could get used to it.

"Attention hog," she said with a giggle as she continued to stroke the serpent.

" _Crybaby_ ," Asclepius responded with a quiet hiss.

Akko decided right then and there to learn a few insults to say in snake tongue.


End file.
